Childhood Friend of the Zenith

The shocking words I accidentally uttered out loud was enough to make the excited crowd around me fall silent in an instant.

Moreover, the one I had said it to was none other than the famous son of the Alliance Leader.

Furthermore, Gu Jeolyub and Gu Yeonseo, who were standing behind me, backed away with a look of disbelief.

…These fuckers…

They were pretending that they weren’t associated with me, but did they forget that they were wearing the same outfit as me?

I couldn’t believe they betrayed me that quickly, but in such an idiotic manner at the same time.

They learned well.

Yes, that was how a person should live.

But I’ll see you later, Gu Jeolyub.

Flinch–

Putting aside Gu Jeolyub who kept stroking his shoulders after feeling a chill emanating from me, Jang Seonyeon put on a dumbfounded look on hearing me swear at him and then began to smile a little.

“…You are still the same.”

No, he wasn’t smiling.

He just put on a mask, one much thicker than the one he wore before.

“It seems that you hate me.”

“This is what you call a mutual feeling. You hate me as well.”

“Of course not. Why would I have bothered coming over to greet you if I hated you?”

“The nonsense you speak makes me want to laugh.”

Chuckle.

Reigning in my laughter that was on the verge of bursting out, I got closer to the bastard.

“How is it?”

“…How is what?”

“How is it?”

I got even closer.

Seeing his handsome face up close only made me angrier, but I was able to hold myself back.

“Can you see it?”

“…!”

Hearing my question, the bastard’s pupils started trembling in shock.

How pathetic, this was all it took to shake the thick mask he wore.

“…What did you just do?”

“I got closer to you while controlling my anger. Can you see it or not? You can’t, right?”His thoughts were obvious.

Just like how his own level had risen, he was curious about my progress as well.

He had done this to the Water Dragon in my past life.

Getting close to his opponent while pretending to be nice.

It’s just that I was his target this time, which was what I wanted.

Though…

“There is no way that you can. You are a joke.”He couldn’t see what he desired.

After all, I wasn’t weak enough to be visible to a mere bastard like him.

“…”

Crack.

I could hear the soft sound of teeth grinding.

It was only for an instant, but being right in front of him, I could hear it clearly.

“Haha.”

The bastard who was shaken for an instant put on his thick mask once more.

He had certainly improved compared to last time.

He had gotten better at wearing a mask.

Not bad.

It’ll be more enjoyable to tear you apart now.

The thicker it was, the more satisfying it would be to destroy.

Whether I would break, rip, or burn him to death, I had no plan to leave him alive.

I would rather bite my tongue and kill myself than let him live.

The surroundings fell silent and everyone was watching the intense situation with anxious gazes.

In the eyes of other people, this might have looked like a battle of nerves.

-Isn’t he the Meteor Sword? Did someone pick a fight with him?

-What’s wrong with his opponent? His personality is really nasty.

-Just look at him. Do you think he’s going to be nice? For the Meteor Sword to be picked on by a strange guy like him…

-Which clan does he belong to? This is the first time I’ve… Ah, wait…!

The Gu Clan of Shanxi.

Realizing where I came from after checking my outfit, the faint whispers fell silent once more.

-…The Sword Phoenix.

After someone muttered her title softly, everyone nodded their heads in understanding.

Even my crazy personality was overlooked thanks to her.

…Just what did she do here?

I was once again curious about what Gu Huibi did when she attended the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

As I was about to let out a sigh…

-Isn’t the True Dragon from the same clan?

I started to hear some whispers about me.

-…The True Dragon? That True Dragon?

The True Dragon was a True Dragon, so what did he mean by ‘That True Dragon’?

-Then that bastard is the True Dragon?

-Isn’t it the person behind him? The handsome one.

-…Oh… You might be right. He’s handsome.

I didn’t know why they were judging us based on looks, but the Master Sword of Heroic Flame felt a chill emanate from me as they called him the True Dragon.

“…Eh?”

He started rolling his eyes in a panic as everyone began staring at him.

-But the True Dragon isn’t a sword user.

-It could just be his hobby.

-Understandable.

You fuckers. What do you mean by understandable?

Being the center of attention was more of a hassle than I expected.

And it was too soon for me to attract their attention as I planned to lay low after passing the test.

Anyway, I embraced their sharp gazes and spoke to Jang Seonyeon.

“If you’re done with your business here, how about screwing off?”

“…Business, huh.”

No sooner did I hear Jang Seonyeon whispering something softly…

Hmm?

I felt something strange.

It was some toxic Qi trying to enter my body.

Ha.

Clench.

“…!”

Because something tried to enter my body, I grabbed it and clenched it tight.

Then, Jang Seonyeon’s eyes widened a bit, as if he hadn’t expected me to grab his aura.

“You fucker…”

Crack.

I was speechless.

“I’m doing my best to hold back, so why are you testing my patience?”

My Dantian reinforced the qi with my emotions and spread it to my body through my blood.

Woong.

Qi filled my middle Dantian and my breath started heating up.

Crack.

When I clenched my fist, I saw the Qi break apart and scatter away.

It was definitely Blood Qi.

It seemed like he was still relying on that damned Qi.

I’m speechless.

I thrust my hand forward to grab the bastard’s neck, but I unexpectedly failed to do so.

Kwak!

It was because someone else had grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

The hand felt heavy and his strength made it difficult for me to escape his grasp.

Who is it?

When I looked at the person with a cold gaze, a heavy gaze stared back at me.

“It’s nice to see that you are still young and healthy,...”

Unlike the kind tone of his voice, his face was emotionless.

“But since we have a large audience, there is a need for you to kill a bit of your spirit .”

*Bijuu the Dishonored Venerable.*

No, it was Bi Eejin from Bi Clan.

“…”

I gasped internally as soon as I saw him.

Why was this man here?

Was he really planning to enter the Academy?

I couldn’t believe that an old man like him was participating in a children’s party.

I tried my best to avoid him, but annoyingly, I had to run into him now of all times.

Moreover…

I didn’t notice him even though he came this close.

Since I was pissed off, I may have let go of my focus for an instant, but the Heavenly Venerable really was different, huh.

And I also had to learn why the Dishonored Venerable decided to stop me.

I didn’t think that he was the type of person to intervene in a situation like this.

What was his goal?

I couldn’t understand his intentions either.

Judging by his gaze, it seemed like he wanted something, but I didn’t know what it was and that made me even more curious.

Bi Eejin, who stared at me for a moment, moved his gaze toward Jang Seonyeon with my wrist still in his grasp.

Flinch.

Jang Seonyeon flinched the moment their eyes met.

Though it was understandable since it was hard for a human to look into eyes that didn’t hold a shred of emotion in them.

“Brother, it would be wise for you to stop yourself from doing anything unnecessary as well.”

“…Dragon Warrior.”

It seemed like Jang Seonyeon about Bi Eejin as well.

“If you cause trouble before the exam, you’ll be barred from taking it.”

Only after hearing Bi Eejin did my head start working again.

Ugh, you idiot.

I swore at myself.

Jang Seonyeon may have been a son of a bitch, but he obviously had a purpose for approaching me.

Despite that, I was unable to control my anger on seeing that bastard’s face.

Was he aiming to get me worked up…

So I can’t even attempt the exam?

I wondered if he would really try such a thing, but it was also difficult to say that he wouldn’t.

Hearing him Jang Seonyeon didn’t deny it and replied.

“…And what makes you think that you are a part of this, Brother Bi?”

“As you can see, I am not a part of this, but I have a rather meddlesome personality.”

As soon as I heard him, I thought to myself.

That was definitely not the case.

He was far from meddlesome, so what did he mean by meddlesome?

I stood still and stared at Bi Eejin speechlessly.

“Since nothing good will come out from this, how about we all stop here?”

Then, Bi Eejin spoke to Jang Seonyeon with a smile.

Additionally...

“If you don’t want to, I can show you how meddlesome I can be.”

As soon as he spat out those words …

“…!”

I felt a shiver run down my spine and I unconsciously took a step back.

Bi Eejin wasn’t using his Qi or letting out his killing intent.

All he did was speak a few words, yet the hair on my body stood up.

As expected…

I looked at the Dishonored Venerable in shock.

He may have undergone Eternal Youth, but it didn’t change the fact that he was one of the three strongest in the Central Plains by the time the Heavenly Demon appeared.

Feeling like this just by his atmosphere, I was truly able to feel the experience he had built.

And seeing Jang Seonyeon shrink back, it seemed like he felt the same.

Then, he looked towards me…

“…Sigh.”

And sighed.

Why was the bastard sighing at me? It made me feel offended.

“…It seems that Brother Gu always has people around him, huh.”

“What are you talking about?”

It sounded disgusting.

Just hearing the emotions mixed in her voice made me want to slap him…

“…”

But my wrist wouldn't budge because of Bi Eejin’s grasp.

Of course, it would have been different if I used my Qi…

But that might cause a bigger problem.

It felt like something bigger was going to happen if I escaped his grasp right now.

Moreover, let alone Jang Seonyeon, the gazes of the people who were watching felt strange.

Because the Meteor Sword called him the Dragon Warrior, everyone here realized that Bi Eejin, the man holding my wrist, was the Dragon Warrior of the Six Dragons and Three Phoenixes.

Did it seem strange?

Guys, I was not friends with this man.

I wanted to inform everyone, but Bi Eejin’s gaze made me remain silent.

After gazing at me for a moment, Jang Seonyeon smiled once again.

It was almost as if his expressions from before never existed to begin with.

“I just came here for a small greeting today.”

“What an aggressive greeting that was. Must be your taste.”

“…I hope we can meet again.”

He turned around and walked in the direction he came from without listening to me.

Only after that did Bi Eejin let go of my wrist.

Putting Jang Seonyeon to the side, even though I was trying to avoid him as much as possible, I had to ask him.

“Why did you stop me?”

The reason he even bothered to stop me.

I couldn’t understand why he did that when he disliked the attention of people more than anyone.

“Like I said earlier, I was just being meddlesome.”

“You don’t seem like the type of person though.”

“Oh?”

Bi Eejin had a strange expression upon hearing my words.

“You speak as if you know me well.”

“…It’s just my intuition.”

“Well, you aren’t necessarily wrong.”

Bi Eejin’s gaze examined my body.

“I don’t want you to return.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like.”

He stopped me because I would’ve probably been sent back home if I caused any trouble.

It also meant that he knew what I would’ve done to Jang Seonyeon if he hadn’t stopped me.

Smile.

His smile seemed to be artificial.

It was different from the mask Jang Seonyeon wore, but the eyes he had during that battle must’ve been his real expression.

“I’m kind of interested in the Young Master.”

“…Pardon?”

I took a step back from hearing him.

For some reason, he sounded a bit too similar to that crazy fucker from the Peng Clan.

It seemed like Bi Eejin found my reaction funny because he let out a small laugh.

“I haven’t seen that expression in a while and I didn’t think that I would ever meet someone who would make such an expression again.”

“…Do you perhaps…”

“I like women.”

“Oh is that so?”

I stopped backing away.

I was glad, the bastard from Peng Clan was suspicious because he added a “?” at the end.

“Or maybe not.”

“…”

What was wrong with this bastard?

I was feeling rather uncomfortable now.

Am I only popular with guys?

Be it Yung Pung or the Water Dragon in my past life, for some reason, it felt like I was popular with guys.